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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Western Carolina/Alabama: Back to basics for Tide

While the schedule shows that Alabama
plays Western Carolina this Saturday, most will tell you
that Alabama has a date with
discipline and fundamentals this Saturday.

The Crimson Tide, 9-1 overall and No. 4 in the BCS, will
need to sharpen the “basics” if they want to accomplish something of major
significance this season.

LSU and Texas A&M are two very fine football teams, but
lack of discipline, especially on the defensive side of the football, almost cost
Alabama back-to-back games. In
order to move forward in a positive way, the Crimson Tide must return to the
essentials that once propelled them to the nation’s highest ranking.

Nick Saban coaches and preaches a certain “standard” of
performance, and when that standard is not met, Alabama
can look like a very average football team. The second half at LSU, and the
first quarter against Texas A&M, are the most obvious examples.Western Carolina, out of the Southern
Conference, will enter the contest with Alabama
with a record of 1-9. Their lone victory of the 2012 campaign came in the first
game of the season against Mars Hill. While a Catamount loss to the Crimson
Tide is inevitable, this game for Alabama
is not about who they play…but rather how they play.

The first game of the “new” Alabama
football season begins Saturday morning…Alabama 49Western Carolina 0